Estonia

Estonia is a country in Northern Europe, located in the Baltics region; its capital is Tallinn. Estonia first became independent on 24 February 1918, and it forced the Bolsheviks to leave the country by 1920, breaking away from the future Soviet Union. However, Stalin led the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states in 1940, and Estonia was occupied until 20 August 1991, when the nation declared its independence. On 1 May 2004, Estonia joined the European Union, and the nation became one of the least-populous EU and NATO member states, having a mere 1,315,944 residents in 2016. Most Estonians are atheist, with the largest religion being Orthodox Christianity (15% of the population). Estonia shares cultural and ethnic ties with neighboring Finland, with Estonians being Finnic peoples.